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An inspiring desktop display for CEOs, senior managers, pilots or aviation enthusiasts, this handsome executive display model of the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis is a handcrafted mahogany replica of the historic USAF original. The X-1 was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. The first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in a controlled level flight, it was the first of the so-called X-Planes, an American series of experimental aircraft designated for testing of new technologies and usually kept highly secret. In principle the Bell X-1 military aircraft was a “bullet with wings,” its shape closely resembling the Browning .50-caliber machine gun bullet that was known to be stable in supersonic flight. The Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis Executive Display model is presented on a wooden stand. Scale 1:32. Ages 14 and up.
8.5"h x 11"l. x 9.5"w.

Museum Provenance

On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, the X-1 reached a speed of 700 mph, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 43,000 feet. Yeager named the plane Glamorous Glennis in tribute to his wife. Air-launched at an altitude of 23,000 feet from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29, the X-1 used its rocket engine to climb to its test altitudes. It flew a total of 78 times, and on March 26, 1948, with Yeager at the controls, it attained a speed of 957 mph, Mach 1.45, at an altitude of 71,900 feet. This was the highest velocity and altitude reached by a manned airplane up to that time. The Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis is on display in the Milestones of Flight exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum. One of the world’s finest collections of model aircraft and spacecraft is housed in the National Air and Space Museum.

Every Smithsonian purchase will arrive with a museum provenance card explaining how it is adapted from or
inspired by an object or objects in our collection.